Latch
by yourSECRETKEEPER
Summary: A collection of drabbles and vignettes from the world of Percy Jackson. These were mostly written for PJO Shipweeks 2014.
1. The Return

Drabble written for the PJO Shipweeks 2014.

No one should be alone on Christmas. And although he'd promised to leave all thoughts of Sally Jackson behind, Poseidon couldn't help but think of her alone in her apartment on Christmas. So even though Christmas doesn't mean anything to the gods, on December 24th Poseidon found himself knocking on the door to Sally's apartment.

Alarm. Shock. Confusion. Elation. The emotions ran through Sally's head at the speed of light. He'd told her that they couldn't see each other again. And yet there he was. Within seconds, she was in his arms. What belongs to the sea will always return.


	2. Words

Written for PJO Shipweeks 2014, week 2 Tyson & Ella.

Words. Tyson was not good with words. He could take pieces of scrap metal and transform them into something beautiful. But Tyson could not string words together to form pretty sentences to save his life. Yet, whenever he saw her, he wanted to try. She made him want to be a poet. She made him tongue-tied. _ Ella_.

Words. Ella knew words, lived words, breathed words. Words were how she related to the world. She could memorize any number of words and still have room to think about him. And when it came to him, she never had enough words. _Tyson_.


	3. Nymphs

Written for PJO Shipweeks 2014 Week 3: Grover x Juniper

_Nymphs_

Nymphs, Grover thought, were the most infuriating creatures in existence. It was not his fault that the campers trampled on plants during capture the flag. Grover could do nothing about it, but that didn't stop their complaints.

He sighed and settled down on his favorite rock. His reed pipes were no use. He'd played Since You Been Gone three times and the plants still looked downtrodden.

"You know," came a voice from behind him, "I think they look better already." A juniper tree wood nymph was smiling at him encouragingly.

Nymphs, Grover thought, were the most beautiful creatures in existence.


	4. A Hero's Death

Written for PJO Shipweeks 2014. Week 4. Charlie x Selena. Set at the moments they decide to sacrifice themselves for the war against Kronos.

_A Hero's Death._

A hero's death was something that Charles Beckendorf trained for every day. Now that it was staring him in the face, he wanted nothing to do with it. He wanted a long, cowardly life with Silena. But for the chance to keep her safe, he would accept a hero's fate.

A hero's death was too good for Silena Beauregard. She didn't deserve it. But she needed to make things right. She hoped that Charlie would forgive her for her mistakes; he loved her and she loved him. For the chance to see him again, she would accept a hero's fate.


	5. Five Hundred Words On Friendship

**Five Hundred Words on Friendship**  
_Written for PJO Shipweeks 2014, Free Friendship Week_

No one understood how or why but Clarisse and Silena were best friends. They were complete opposites. It didn't make any sense. The children of love and war should hate each other on principle. Clarisse was tall, muscular, and often looked as if she'd just rolled out of bed. Silena was narrow, lithe, and often looked as if she'd just rolled out of a Vogue photo shoot. But Silena was the one person who bothered to look for and cared enough to find the gentle goodness in hard-edged Clarisse. And Clarisse was the one person who bothered to look for and cared enough to find the fierce warrior in doll-like Silena.

They say that some children of Aphrodite have persuasive abilities, that they can persuade someone to do something by putting a bit more effort into their words. Some people thought that perhaps that was why the two girls were friends. Perhaps Silena was the only one who could get Clarisse to be nice to her because of charmspeak. That wasn't true.

Silena did not have any extraordinary powers except for perhaps her ability to always see the good in others. She was like her mother that way, an eternal optimist. She always say the glass half full and was aware of the potential in some people that others were not. When Silena looked at Clarisse, she didn't see a terrifying child of war, she saw a loyal friend. It explained why Silena was the only one to realize that Clarisse had feelings for Chris Rodriguez. No one else at camp would have imagined that Clarisse could love somebody. Silena knew it in a heartbeat though.

Clarisse would never forget Silena's offer to help her with Chris. Most of the other campers stayed for away from her and that was how she liked it. At first, Clarisse was horrified at the idea of letting Silena get close to her. The idea of asking for love advice was simply mortifying. But Silena wasn't like anyone else Clarisse knew. She was kind and patient and responded to Clarisse's taunting remarks with smiles instead of insults.

And thus, Camp Half Blood's strangest friendship was born. Clarisse taught Silena how to improve her sword fighting while Silena gave Clarisse tips on her relationship with Chris. If anyone dared make fun of Aphrodite's children in front of Clarisse, she smacked them with her spear.

When Clarisse found out that Silena was the one who was acting as a spy for Kronos it broke her heart. She felt as if she had somehow failed Silena. That it was her fault that Silena got taken in by Luke. But then she realized that it was Silena's own trusting nature that had caused the betrayal. It was a testament to their friendship that Silena's sacrifice was the only thing that could tear Clarisse away from her pride and anger. In that moment, Silena embodied bravery. Silena was the Patroclus to her Achilles and Clarisse would never forget her.


End file.
